Samira is our operational manager in Bosnia and in her everyday work she ensures that our colleagues at Softhouse Balkans thrive and continuously develop in their knowledge. When she’s not at the office in Sarajevo, she enjoys reading a good book, walking in nature or simply doing some exercises.

Samira Nuhanovic is our operational manager, or Chief Operations Officer, at Softhouse Balkans in Sarajevo. Samira oversees the day-to-day operations of the business, helps execute the strategic plans devised by the Softhouse Balkans CEO, Himzo Music. 

– My role involves many different things. Some COOs focus on handling operational processes exclusively, but at Softhouse, the role is defined to be more focused on people and their development. For me, it is important that the people in our office feel that they are at the center of our development and well taken care of. When they are developing in the right direction, everything else falls into place, says Samira. I take care of them so that they can take care of our clients. 

She continues.

– The focus of my work is to ensure that each individual thrives at Softhouse and receives the support they need to be able to develop on their career path. Together with each employee, we plan their skills development in technology and software. During one year, we have many conversations with our employees about their well-being and satisfaction in their work. Their development is purposeful and nothing inspires me more than to see someone bloom to their full potential.

In addition to taking care of our colleagues, Samira works with a bunch of other tasks. Right now she is involved in a project with an internal team aimed at launching  the “Digital Transformation Hub”. This concept is a “one-stop-spot” for companies that wish to innovate their business model, pick up the pace of their digitalisation level and create sustainable value in the market.

– For the past five years, we at Softhouse Balkans have focused mostly on delivering software. And we continue to do this for the Swedish market. But we have also decided to launch a service that we think will be well received in local and regional markets – a full fledged service of digital transformation for small and medium enterprises. We have just onboarded our first client outside of the IT sector and we could not be more excited about accompanying them on their transformational journey. 

My colleagues have a great sense of humor

For Samira, the most fun part of her job is to see her colleagues develop in their roles. She gets proud when she sees people go from being junior developers to becoming fully confident in delivering to our customers. Another thing Samira likes is coffee breaks or swedish “fika” with colleagues in the office.

– Once a month we have a big swedish fika together. And we take the occasion to give thanks to each other for the support and team effort we invest in our work daily.  I love the laughs we share , and jokes that reflect the closeness of our teams, says Samira.

She continues.

– Sometimes just simple things can make my day, like when some of my colleagues put on a great playlist in the office.

For Samira, the best thing about Softhouse is the people and our culture.

– I love that we fully live by our values ​​here at Softhouse – team, simplicity, courage and passion. It is really visible in our offices. At Softhouse, we not only hang our values ​​on the wall, they are a part of our organization’s DNA. This is what we value when we hire, when we grow together and how we resolve conflicts. It is hard to describe, but you just feel it in the office, says Samira.

Perfect balance between structure and freedom

When Samira was 22 years old, she got her first “real” job. Since then, she has worked with various roles, ranging from project manager for international projects to a start-up incubator director. Her roles have shifted between different manager and leadership roles. Samira has worked with everything from “civil affairs at the Council of Ministers of BiH” to more creative jobs where all colleagues worked closely with each other. She has also worked as a university teacher and that was when she realized exactly what she wanted to work with.

– What I am passionate about is helping other people grow. I love empowering those around me. Getting people to understand their potential and leave their comfort zones to reach the better versions of themselves, says Samira.

At Softhouse, Samira feels that she has found the perfect balance between structure and freedom.

– We have a really good structure for where we are going as a company, while we get the freedom to continuously learn new things, both through Softhouse and outside. I started working at Softhouse to replace another inspiring colleague, Vernisa Rejhan, who started working at our office in Stockholm and recently took on the role of “Talent and Growth Manager” at Group level. She planted the seed of ”people first”, and I’m happy to be a part of that corporate culture. That’s why I joined Softhouse, says Samira. I believe that not only people matter but the connections between them. It is that peculiar type of trust that forms in teams that differentiates great companies from mediocre ones. 

From the office to the book

When Samira is not in our office in Sarajevo, she enjoys reading books and writing.

– I have always loved reading. Writing somehow came as a supplement to reading. It comes very naturally to me. But my interest in writing reached a whole new level when I had my own child and we started creating stories together. Now we have gathered some for our collection, children are very intelligent, but not easy to satisfy, says Samira.

Due to health problems, Samira has always been discouraged from trying sports. But over the past five years, she has pushed her boundaries and challenged herself.

– Since then, I have managed to run a half marathon and discovered that weight lifting is my thing, says Samira.

She continues.

– My secret talent is patience, but only at work. Privately, I have no patience at all, she says and laughs.

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